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Clean Earth Technologies owners, (left to right): Jeff Golden
and Robert Morgan. |
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EARTH CITY
COMPANY
IMPROVES HOMELAND SECURITY
By Glen Sparks
Here is a scary statistic, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
in Atlanta: there are at least 42 biological agents that terrorists
might choose to turn into a weapon—everything from anthrax to botulism;
from small pox to the plague.
“This is just our sort of problem,” says Jeff Golden, co-owner of
Clean Earth Technologies Inc. “This is just the sort of challenge
that we like to address.”
Clean Earth, based in Earth City, is developing a device to detect
dangerous agents and remove them from buildings. The company has
also built an impressive lineup of other high-tech products.
“We’re a research and development (R&D) company with a twist,” says
Golden’s partner, Robert Morgan. The twist is Clean Earth’s on-site
manufacturing center, which specializes in military-related work,
homeland security, intelligence and life sciences.
“Our reputation is in very rapid technology development,” Golden,
56, says. “It’s one-stop shopping. The theme for our company is
‘We’re in a hurry.’”
Some of the Clean Earth products sound like they might be straight
out of a Buck Rogers comic book. Others, like the decontamination
system, sound frightening, but necessary, in a post-9/11 world.
Example? How about a lightweight vest for ground troops to wear
in combat. Sensors could help the soldier detect biological or chemical
agents and, through an optical network, improve communication among
other units. That might mean a decrease in the number of “friendly
fire” incidents.
Then there’s Clean Earth’s facial-recognition system, which will
assist counter-terrorism experts to identify suspects in a large
crowd. Using a combination of ultraviolet and infrared light, the
system can determine if a suspect in the distance is wearing a disguise.
On the battlefield, soldiers could verify if an enemy combatant
is dead or alive.
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Clean Earth is developing a device to detect biological
weapons and eliminate them from buildings. |
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“This system has been hugely successful,” Morgan, 42, says. “We
produced the first working prototype within 12 months of being under
contract.”
As for the decontamination system, it destroys anthrax using a two-step
process. First, a hazardous materials worker sprays liquid photosensitizer
on the contaminated surface. Next, the worker shines an ultraviolet
light on the toxic substance to kill it.
Decontamination systems will vary in size, from hand-held kits to
pushcarts on wheels, to larger models. Costs range from $10,000
to $40,000. Clean Earth scientists also are tinkering with plans
to build a network of sensors capable of detecting airborne agents.
Some projects at Clean Earth get started after brainstorming sessions.
Other times, customers contact the company with a new problem that
needs fixing. “Sometimes we see something on television or hear
something on the radio about a problem and we say, ‘We can find
a solution to that,’” Golden says. “We really focus on those problems
that have an urgent need in the marketplace.”
Clearly, Clean Earth relies on serious brainpower. The 45-member
staff includes 34 PhD-level researchers who specialize in a variety
of disciplines—mechanical and electrical engineering, computer science,
material science, physics, microbiology and chemistry.
“We only demand excellence and creativity,” Golden says.
Golden himself has a PhD in plasma physics from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. He conducted research at the Naval Research
Laboratory in Washington, D.C., for 15 years before getting into
the military-related R&D business.
Morgan graduated with a master's in engineering management from
Virginia Polytechnic and State University. His resume includes work
on electromagnetic pulse and high-power microwave radar systems.
The two men founded Clean Earth in 1996, not long after teaming
up on a project for the Sverdrup Corp. to clean up a contamination
site at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The pair set up
shop in the old Monsanto-Queeny facility in the Soulard area.
It didn’t take long for the business to grow. Clean Earth relocated
to a much larger space in Earth City in October 2002, a little more
than one year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“[Sept. 11] brought a much higher profile to the things we’ve been
doing all along, no question,” Morgan says. “It’s accelerated a
couple of our programs, and brought us some greater visibility during
the war on terrorism.”
Being 900 miles from the Pentagon is not a major drawback. They
say St. Louis offers reasonable housing costs, good schools, a strong
workforce, and only the occasional “pack-a-lunch”-style traffic
jam.
“We’d seen enough of congestion and higher costs in D.C.,” Golden
says. “There’s a little bit of a downside in being this far away
from our primary customer, but nothing that's insurmountable. Being
in the middle of the country offers us better access to both coasts.”
The Pentagon, of course, is a huge government bureaucracy that contracts
billions of dollars in business every year. Getting it to step onto
the fast track can be difficult. But things have changed in recent
years, and Clean Earth should benefit.
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“Our reputation is in very rapid technology development.
It’s one stop shopping. The theme of our company is
‘We’re in a hurry.’” -Jeff Golden |
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“The defense department, particularly under [Secretary of Defense
Donald] Rumsfeld, has made a real move in being attentive to the
fact that technology moves so fast,” Morgan says. “The department
is making changes so that small businesses with good solutions can
get in there and show their work.”
The U.S. military is one of Clean Earth’s most important clients,
but local police and fire departments also are potential customers.
Leaders of St. Louis County's hazardous materials and emergency
response team want to learn more about the firm's decontamination
system.
William Brandes, chief of the Creve Coeur Fire Protection District,
heads the emergency response team and has taken a few trips out
to Clean Earth. “Oh, absolutely, we are interested in something
like that device,” he says. “I’m anxious to learn more about it
and to see some test results. Really, all we have right now if we
need to decontaminate an area is soap and water...”
U.S. Sen. Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond, R-Mo., is another supporter of
Clean Earth. He has sponsored appropriation bills to fund some of
the company’s projects, including the decontamination machine. “Clean
Earth Technologies’ emergence as a leading small business defense
firm in the St. Louis area is just one example of the growing number
of innovative firms in the region that are actively engaged in providing
cutting-edge technologies and services to the U.S. government and
private sector,” Bond says.
So far, Clean Earth isn’t getting much competition from other U.S.
companies. “Very few companies bridge the gap between the laboratory
and the marketplace,” Golden says.
The financial numbers back him up—Clean Earth has averaged about
100 percent annualized growth over the last five years. It did $8.3
million in sales in 2003, or double the amount from 2002.
Indeed, Golden and Morgan are looking for a new, larger space in
Earth City. The current headquarters is 16,000 square feet. Clean
Earth also has a Dallas office with six researchers specializing
in telecommunications and information processing. Golden and Morgan
hope to open a branch office soon in Springfield, Mo., to do more
defense-related work.
“The four sectors that we decided to get into years ago have been
nearly prophetic from a business viewpoint in that they are four
of the hottest areas in the U.S. economy,” Morgan says.
He adds, “The satisfaction for every employee here is that they
can see what we're doing has a tangible effect in the world that
we’re living in and the global war on terrorism. I wouldn’t want
to be doing anything else.”
Glen Sparks is a freelance writer based in St. Louis. |
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